Community Nutrition | gretamaceyportfolio

Background: The Jesus Center is a nonprofit organization in Chico, CA that provides meals, shelter and job building programs for the homeless. The Jesus Center Farm is one of those job building opportunities and in recent months has become at risk for closure due to lack of funds. I partnered up with the farm director to develop a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model that would foster financial stability for the farm. It is offered to members of my church, with the hopes of expanding to the Chico community. The produce boxes are distributed bi-monthly. I assist the director and interns in packing the boxes and also developed the following newsletters highlighting the vegetables with nutrition facts, recipes and storage tips. I also hold member meetings every two or three months to update members on the status of the farm and create an open forum for discussion.

What I learned: This ministry has taught me how to use my knowledge, and passion for nutrition education to serve my community. I am responsible for handling payments, tracking memberships and, acting as a liaison between the Jesus Center Farm and my church. My ability to communicate clearly and effectively has matured significantly. I have learned how to delegate tasks to other members of my church and be willing to ask for help when I need it. This project started as a small idea in efforts to serve my community and it has blossomed into an integral part of The Jesus Center Farm and is becoming what I hope, a permanent ministry at my church. What is most rewarding is connecting CSA members to the farm and seeing their appreciation for local, fresh produce grow with each distribution. It is a remaindered that each box’s contents was cultivated and harvested by members of the community most in need of their encouragement.

Harvesting Hope CSA Ministry

Assignment Title: Athlete Nutrition Presentations

Course: NFSC 489 Sports Nutrition Externship

Assignment Description: As a sports nutrition extern, I have completed over 50 hours of nutrition counseling with various athletes at California State University, Chico. I applied my nutrition knowledge to calculated energy requirements and macronutrient breakdowns for each athlete and used food recalls to evaluate their current intakes. While individual sessions with athletes occurred weekly, I also presented to teams as a large group on various topics. In addition to informative presentations, I also provided tours of the various food marketplaces on campus, showing athletes practical and nutritional choices to help them meet their training needs while balancing a busy schedule. I also have presented to running programs at a local running store, Fleet Feet Chico. The populations for these groups consist of middle-aged and very often new runners. For these presentations I focused on proper hydration and food choices surrounding workouts to avoid GI discomfort and promote recovery.

What I learned:This externship gave me experience working with an array of different athletes, body types and body composition goals. I learned how to cater my counseling sessions to each individual and their level of nutrition knowledge. Team presentations were an opportunity for me to take a very academic, scientific perspective of nutrition and meal planning, and simplify it into information that can be understood by my audiences. The most valuable takeaway from this experience was being able to contrast it to my practice of non-diet approach nutrition counseling. Athletes are a unique population, requiring a different perspective towards nutrition. I enjoyed being able to see how much motivational interviewing and intuitive eating strategies I could integrate into counseling sessions that also require a more traditional approach to nutrition counseling. I feel that having both experiences of counseling has made me well equipped to work with various populations.

Healthy Weight Gain and Weight Loss for Athletes

No Boundaries Running Program Needs Assessment

Assignment Title: Lay Paper for the Public

Course: NFSC 365 Nutrition Counseling and Education

Assignment Description: The task was to select a topic related to nutrition or general health and fitness that would be appropriate for a target audience. The topic was to be currently trending and specifically interesting for readers. Students were then tasked with finding three interview sources that would be considered experts on the topic. These interviews were to provide a well-rounded background of knowledge and key quotes in which to write the article around. An overriding message was to be supported by the information gathered from research and interviews. The final article was to be formatted as if it came straight from a particular news outlet (magazine, newspaper or website).

What I learned:I chose to write my article on high intensity interval training. It is a trending form of physical activity proven to be time efficient and just as effective in comparison to sustained moderate intensity exercise. I enjoyed writing this article because it allowed me to conduct research related to my exercise science minor. I interviewed a professor and graduate student from the kinesiology department as well as a coworker from my job as a group exercise instructor. I learned about formatting an article for a specific audience, and how to take important information and elaborate in a way that is accessible to a large population. Part of the assignment was to conduct a readability test and word count, to determine the reading level for the article. It was great practice considering most of my course work is expected to be of certain academic vocabulary and reading level. From this assignment, I learned how to present information to the public in an interesting and exciting way, while still educating on a health related topic.

High Intensity Interval Training